1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a filtration module and/or a novel method of making a frameless filtration module for water or wastewater treatment that can produce filtrate that is free of particles, reduce precipitated hardness, colloids and organic compounds. The designed apparatus, which is either encapsulated or in cartridge form, can be assembled and disbanded easily to suit diverse process requirements. The module configuration and assembly also helps in clean-in-place, repair or replacement activities to be performed in situ. Also this includes operational conditions and parameters, which extends the filtration process without any flux decline without cleaning.
2. Background of the Related Art
Micro and ultra filtration membranes and modules are available in various sizes, shapes and configurations. A variety of membranes like hollow fibers, tubular and flat sheet membranes are configured to form filtration devices. Each type caters to a specific application area like surface water, ground water, seawater, municipal or industrial wastewater. Every type of membrane and the module design would work on variable operating parameters based on their configuration and process requirement. Some of these like hollow fibers or tubular membranes are self encapsulated and can be used as plug & play. But when it comes to repair or maintenance these are not user friendly at point of use as the membrane surfaces are permanently potted to the module. Others like cassettes or plate & frame devices are quite huge in size & volume and mostly work on non pressurized applications.
Productivity of these units is comparatively less than the encapsulated or packed fiber membrane modules. Maneuverability of these modules during maintenance operation is not easy due to their sizes. Hence there is hardly any module available in this particular field that can be used in multiple sectors of separation with flexibility on process parameters and easy to handle design.